Corking machine



July 3, 1923. Y 1.460.650

SJ GILLESPIE ET AL CORKING MACHINE Filed June 15 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 o Z N wa k 4 14?? WITNESS: 1N VEN TORS 5. Gums/W5 & EL SHELOR I BY l ATTORNEY,

July 3, 1923. 4 1.460.650

' s. GILLESPIE ET AL CORKING MACHINE Filed June 15. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W1 TNESS: INVENTORS A TTORNEY.

atented July 3, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SCOTT GILLESPIE AND FREDERICK L. SHELOR, F SALEM, VIRGINIA; SAID SEELOR ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL FILLER CORPORATION, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA,

.A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

oonxme MACHINE.

Application filed June 15, 1920. Serial 1T0. 389,254.

I FREDERICK L. SHELOR, citizens of the United States, residin at Salem, in the countyof Roanoke and tate of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corking Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to corking machines, and aims to provide a novel and improved mechanism for supplying corks so tliat they can be readily driven into the bott es.

The mechanism is intended particularly for use in handling tapered corks or similar articles, which are larger in diameter at one end than the other, requiring that they be placed in one position to be driven or insert ed, .and it is the object of the invention to provide hovel, yet simple and efiective means for delivering the corks into a magazine or other receiver in a predetermined position, therebv obviating the necessity for manually placing the corks inposition.

A further object is the provision of a machine having a receptacle for receiving the corks, and means operable for delivering the corks small end foremost into the magazine or receptacle.

A further object is the provision of novel means for bringing the corks to a positionwith their smaller ends lowermost, so that they can be dropped into a magazine or receiver in this position.

A still further object is the provision of means roviding for the separation of undersize and oversized or mutilated corks, so that they will be separated from the corks which are supplied to the magazine or receiver.

A still further ob ect is the provision of means whereby the surplus corks are taken care of when the magazine or receiver is full,

such as when the supply of corks is greater than the demand.

Another object is the provision of novel means for delivering the corks, one at a time, from the receptacle to the means which arights 0r positions the corks for entry into the magazine or receiver, whereby such means prevents the choking of the mechanism and impairment of the operation there of by the excessive supply of corks.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the mechanism. Fig. 2 is a vertical section *takenon the. line 2-2 of Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, portions being broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged diametrical section of the cork feeding wheel. a

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail of said wheel showing the air-controlling means.

The oflice of the present machine is to supply the corks to a magazine or receiver 10, which is a vertical tube as shown, and from which the corks are removed to be driven into the bottles or other vessels, by a mechanism part of which is indicated at 11. It will be understood, at the outset, however, that the corks or other similar articles which are delivered to the magazine 10 can be removed therefrom and driven or other wise operated on for various purposes, so that the machine can be used for supplying tapered plugs. pegs, and the like. as well as supplying corks for corking bottles, al-

though the machine is described as for the they will dro into the magazine 10 in this position, with their smaller ends foremost, two relative movable members having a slot therebetween to pass over said magazine. As shown, these members are of circular form so as to provide for a continuous slot although other variations can be used. Thus, in the embodiment shown, one of said mem bers comprises an annular plate or dish 12 which is inclined transversely from its inner to its outer edge, and the other member comprises a cone 13 located concentrically within the plate 12 with its edge adjacent to but spaced horizontally from the inner edge of the plate 12 in substantially the same horizontal plane, to provide an annular slot 14 of uniform width for receiving the corks 15. Both members therefore slope to the slot 14, so that the corks will roll down the valley between the members so as to fall into said slot, and said slot is of a width to enable the corks to pass down through the slots with the exception of the larger ends of the corks which are supported by the edges of the plate 12 and cone 13. Thus, the corks in rolling down over the slot 14 will result in the smaller ends thereof passing down through said slot, while the larger ends are supported between the edges of the plate 12 and cone 13 in rolling abutment against said edges, thereby bringing the corks to a vertical position with their smaller ends lowermost and their axes disposed vertically. Cones 13 of various diameters can be used, to replace one another, so as to adjust the width of the slot 14 for corks of various diameters, providing an easy manner of changing the machine for corks, the larger ends of which are of diflerent diameters.

In order to advance the corks and bring them to a position to pass into the magazine, the cone or member 13 is rotated, thereby rolling the corks 15 about their axes in vertical position between said cone andplate 12, similar to the balls or rollers of a roller bearing, and the stationary plate 12 has a notch 16 at its inner edge above the magazine 10, so that when the corks reach this notch or widened portion of the slot, they will drop downwardly and pass into the magazine. The rotary movement ofthe cone 13 will also serve to move the corks about between the cone and plate 12, so as to bring the corks to a position so that the smaller ends thereof will swing down through the slot 14. The cone 13 is carried for rotation by a vertical shaft 17 of the operating gearing, and is removable from said shaft. so as to be capable of substitution by another cone of difi'erent diameter when corks of another size are used. Thus, by the simple expedient of the members 12 and 13, they cooperate to bring the corks to the desired position, to advance the corks to a position to pass into the magazine or receiver, and to then release the corks so as to enter the ma am magazine one after the other in a stack or column as seen in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the cone can be substituted by another one for quickly converting the machine for difierent sizes of corks.

In addition to the foregoing, said device serves to sort the corks, by separating undersized or mutilated corks from the perfect ones, inasmuch as the small corks or those in which the larger ends are broken away or mutilated, will fall down through the slot 14 before reaching the notch 16. An arcuate trough 18 is located below the slot 14 to receive the corks which are refused, and the bottom of this trough 18 slopes and merges into a chute 19 from which theimperfect corks are delivered. The magazine 10, member 12, shaft 17 and other parts are supported on a suitable frame 20.

Provision is also made for taking care of the surplus corks when the magazine 10 becomes filled, as seen in Fig. 4. Thus, the upper end of the magazine 10 is provided at that side opposite to the side which the corks approach in moving over the magazine, with a notch or recess 21, from which a chute 22 extends downwardly at an angle. By this simple arrangement, should the magazine be full with a cork projecting from the upper end thereof, as seen in Fig. 4, the next cork 15 moved by the cone 13 over the magazine, will, by contact with the uppermost cork in the magazine, tip same over through the notch 21 so as to fall into the chute 22 and pass down said chute before the cork which is being moved over the magazine, reaches the notch 16, thereby moving the last cork of the magazine out of the way so that the cork which passes through- ;the notch 16 can drop into the magazine. This cork. in turn, will be ejected from the magazine by the next following cork, unless. in the meantime, one or more corks have been removed from the bottom of the magazine. In this Way, should the supply of corks to the magazine be greater than the demand, the surpluscorks are ejected and taken care of without clogging the machine, and it is thus possible to 'supply the corks in suflicient quantities to meet the greatest demand.

In order that the operation of the cork nrighting or positioning means will be most effective, if it is desirable-to supply the corks in small quantities, preferably one at a time, into said means. For this purpose, a receptacle 23 is provided into which the corks are dumped, and the corks are. delivered one at a time from said receptacle into the annular trough between said plate 12 and cone. 13. The cork feeding or delivering means includes a feed wheel 24 rotatable in a vertical plane and passing. through slots 25 in the adjacent walls of the receptacles through which air is drawn, whereby to suck the corks 15 against the small or almost pointed ends of the nipples as they move through the receptacles 23, to carry said corks one at a time only over the wall of the receptacle 23 and into the annular trough between said plate 12 and cone'13. Stripping fingers 27 are preferably carried by the plate 12 between which the nipples 26 move, whereby to strip the corks from said nipples if they are not otherwise removed.

The mounting of the wheel 24, as shown, includes a tube 28 mounted in bearings or brackets 29, and said wheel 24 has a hub 30 rotatable on said 'tube and a gear wheel 31 is secured on the hub to be driven by the operating gearing of the machine, thereby rotating the wheel 24 in the proper direction, so that the nipples will move upwardly into-and through the receptacle 23 thence over the wall thereof, downwardly through the slot of the plate 12. An air suction pipe 32 is connected to one end of the tube 28 and leads to a vacuum pump (not shown) and the wheel 24 has passages 33 leading from the nipples 26 to the hub 30 whereby to exhaust the air from said nipples to draw the corks against said nipples and hold them against same, to feed the corks from the receptacle into the positioning and corking means. It is preferable, although not necessary, to shut off the flow of air through the nipples, as they reach the plate 12 and pass to a position within the receptacle 23 and, for this purpose, the tube 28 can close the inner ends of the passages 33, and hate a slot 34 with which said passages register for the flow of air, thereby establishing the flow of air when the nipples enter the receptacle 23 and continuing same until the nipples reach the plate 12. Thus, the air suction will be shut 01f when the corks are brought over the plate 12 to release said corks, without the aid of the stripping fingers 27, but they can be used as a safe guard or in case that the flow of air through the nipples is continuous.

The operation of the :machine will no doubt be apparent from the foregoing, and briefly described is as follows: The corks are. delivered one by one by' the wheel 24 into the annular trough of the cork positioning and sorting means in which they will roll down the valley over the slot 14 and by the motion of the cone 13, the smaller ends of the corks will pass down through said slot. whereas the larger ends thereof cannot.

This brings the corks to vertical position with their smaller ends lowermost, and the rotation of the cone 13 will roll the corks along the edge of the plate 12. When they reach the notch 16, they drop into the magazine and the smaller or undersized corks drop down the slot 14 into the trough 18. The mechanism thus operates in a simple yet 16 will drop down through the cut out portion 35 of the inner edge of the plate 12, making the slot 14 wide enough for the largest oversize corks to drop down into the trough 18. v I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a mechanism of the character described, a stationary member, and a cooperable movable member, said members having adjacent edges spaced apart horizontally to provide a slot of a uniform width, said edges being so arranged relatively to one another and the slot being of such a width that the smaller ends of tapered articles disposed between said members will pass down through said slot with the-larger ends of the articles uppermost and supported by said edges and with the articles in rolling abutment against said edges, in order that such articles will be given a rolling motion about their axes between said edges with the axes of the articles disposed vertically, the stationary member having a notchin said edge thereof for releasing the articles to drop downwardly.

2. A mechanism of the character described eornprising a pair of relatively movable members having adjacent edges spaced apart horizontally to provide a slot of unifornrwidthand so arranged relatively to one another that the smaller ends of tapered articles disposed between said members will pass down between said edges to bring the articles to vertical position with their \axes vertical and their larger ends uppermost above said edges, in order that the articles are supported between said edges in rolling abutment therewith for rolling motion about said axes by the relative movement of said members, said members sloping to "said slot to direct the articles to the slot, and one member having a notch in said edge thereof to release the-articles.

3. A mechanism of the character described comprising concentric relatively-rm tatable members spaced apart horizontally and having an annular slot between them of -a uniform width for the passage of the 4. A mechanism of the character' described comprising concentric relatively-rotatable members spaced apart horizontally and having an annular slot between them of a uniform width for the passage of the smaller ends of tapered articles down through the slot, said members being so arranged relatively to one another as to support the larger ends of said articles between. the members over said slot and to support the articles in said slot with their axes vertical and the articles in rolling abutment against said members for rolling motion of said articles about said axes by the relative movement of said members, said members sloping to said slot in order to direct the articles to the slot, and one of said members having a notch in the edge thereof adjacent to said slot for releasing the articles when they reach said notch.

5. A mechanism of the character described comprising a stationary annular member, and a rotary member concentric therein. said members having adjacent edges spaced apart horizontally to provide a slot of uniform width for the passage of the smaller ends of tapered articles down through the slot, said edges being so arranged relatively to one another as to support the articles, with their axes vertical and with the articles in rolling abutment against said edges, for rolling motion about said axes between said edges with their larger ends uppermost above said slot, the stationary member having a notch at one point of its edge for releasing the articles of a certain size and having another notch in said edge further on for releasing the oversize articles.

6. A mechanism of the character described comprising an annular plate sloping from its outer to its inner edge, and a cone mounted for rotation concentricaliy within said plate and having its edge cooperable with and spaced horizontally from the inner edge of said plate to provide a slot of uniform width between said edges for the passage of the smaller ends of tapered articles down through said-sl0t -With their larger ends uppermost above said slots and the articles in rolling abutment against said edges, said edge of the cone and inner edge of the plate being so arranged relatively to one another as to support the articles, with their axes vertical, for rolling motion about said axes between said edges; the late having a. notch in its inner edge for re easingthe articles.

7. A mechanism of the character described comprising an annular plate sloping from its outer to its inner edge, and a cone mounted for rotation concentrically within said plate andhaving its edge cooperable with and spaced horizontally from the inner edge of the plate'to provide a slot of uniform width for the passage of the smaller ends of tapered articles down through the slot with their larger ends uppermost above said slot and the articles in rolling abutment against said edges, said edge of the cone and inner edge of the plate beingso arranged relatively to one another as to support the articles, with their axes vertical, for rolling motion about said axes between said edges, the plate having notches at its inn-er edge for releasing difi'erent sizes of articles in succession when they reach such notches.

8. A mechanism of the character described comprising a stationary member, a m vable member having cooperable edges spaced apart to provide a slot of a width for the passage of smaller ends of tapered articles therethrough and for supporting the larger ends of said articles between said edges for rolling motion, the stationary member having means for releasing the articles to drop into a receiver, and means below said slot for catchingthe undersized and mutilated articles as they drop through said slot before reaching said means.

9. A mechanism of the character described comprising a stationary member, a movable member, said member having cooperable edges spaced apart to provide a slot of a width for the passage of smaller ends of tapered articles therethrough and to support the larger ends of said articles between said edges for rolling motion, the stationary member having means for releasing the articles to drop them downwardly, a receiver below said means for receiving the articles in a stack, and means for taking care of and receiving the surplus articles when the receiver isfull. I

- 10. A mechanism of the character described comprising a stationary member, a movable member, said member having cooperable edges spaced apart to provide a slot of a width for the passage of smaller ends of tapered articles therethrough and to support the larger ends of said articles between said edges for rolling motion, the stationary member having means for releasing the articles to drop them downwardly, areceiver below said means for receiving the articles in a stack, the upper end of the receiver having arecess through which the uppermost article in the receiver can fall to be ejected from the receiver by an article moved by said movablev member to said means.

11. A machine of the character described comprising means for receiving tapered articles, a receptacle for holding such articles, and a movable feeding means movable through said receptacle to said means and including portions through which air is drawn for carrying the articles-one at a time from said receptacle to said means.

12. A machine of the character. de-

scribed comprising means for receiving ta- In testimony whereof we haw Sighml our pered articles, a receptacle for holding such names to this specification in tho uance a-rtlcles, a rotatable wheel working in said of a subscribing witness.

receptacle and having nipplcx for drawing S(()T'l (ilLLlC PIE-, the articles thereto and carrying same to FRED L. SHELUH. said means, and an air suction pipe commu- In the presence ofnicating with said nipples. F. C. Scnoruzm. 

